The Psyche Spacecraft Launches to Study Large Asteroid

Oct. 13 (UPI) — NASA’s Psyche spacecraft embarked on its mission to study a large asteroid, offering valuable insights into the creation and composition of Earth and similar planets. The launch took place at 10:19 a.m. on Friday from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Psyche spacecraft was carried atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. Just four minutes after liftoff, the booster stage separated from the spacecraft. The objective of the mission is to explore the Psyche asteroid, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft is equipped with various instruments, including a multispectral imager to study the asteroid’s surface and a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer to analyze its chemical composition. Additionally, the Psyche mission will carry out the Asteroid Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, aiming to develop laser-based communication systems for future spacecraft.

“If all goes as planned, asteroid Psyche’s gravity will capture the spacecraft in late July 2029, and Psyche will begin its prime mission in August. It will spend about two years orbiting the asteroid to take pictures, map the surface, and collect data to determine Psyche’s composition,” NASA stated. Astronomers estimate that the Psyche asteroid, discovered in 1852, has a maximum width of approximately 173 miles. They believe it could be made up of planetesimals, early building blocks of planets. The mission hopes to unravel the mysteries of our planet’s formation, as the composition of the Psyche asteroid might resemble that of Earth’s metal core. “We can’t bore a path to Earth’s metal core — or the cores of the other rocky planets — so visiting Psyche could provide a one-of-a-kind window into the violent history of collisions and accumulation of matter that created planets like our own,” NASA explained.